Manufacture of mosaic fabrics



Sept 1929' DEARDEN 1,728,397

MANUFACTURE OF MOSAIC FABRICS 3 3 Filed Sepifh'22, 1927 3 Edward l aslrderv j e flztorney Patented Sept. 17, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDWARD C. DEARDEN, OF MERION, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE GEO. W. BLABON COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA MANUFACTURE OF MOSAIC FABRICS Application filed September 22, 1927. Serial No. 221,220.

My invention is an improvement in the manufacture of flexible mosaic fabrics designed to provide a floor covering or the like having a pattern thereon accentuated or made to stand out in relief by inequalities in the surface levels of inlays or t-esserae comprised in the pattern. My improvements are particularly designed and adapted for the production of flexible mosaic fabrics simulating tiles, slatestones, fiagstones, bricks, or other paving plaques laid in mortar, and a leading object of my invention is the avoidance of difiiculties entailed in the manufacture and cleaning of fabrics having narrow depressed tesserae forming grooves or indentations designed to simulate mortar joints between tesserae simulating tiles or the like.

In accordance with my invention, a mosa1c fabric may be produced having projecting ridges forming raised joints extending above the general surface level of the fabric. The bulk of the area of the fabric is preferably formed of tesserae simulating tiles or stones and wear thereon is minimized initially by a grid of projecting joints bounding the larger tesserae without the formation of narrow crevises or depressed corners, which catch and retain dirt. Such slightly protruding joints or borders accentuate the design of the pattern by definitely outlining the contours of the tesserae and produce light and shadow lines of pleasing effect, similar in appearance to products having designs impressed thereon.

Variations or inequalities in the relative surface levels of larger tcsserae and joint forming tesserae may be produced by my invention without the use of embossing plates or rollers, which are expensive to make and unsatisfactory in use, by forming such tes serae of compositions of different elasticities or resiliencies, so that the mosaic-forming elements expand or rebound upwardly to varying extents when they are released from the pressure of the press or rollers by which they are compacted. Such differences in expansion after compression may be effected by making the j oint-forming tesserae thicker initially than the tesserae forming the general surface, but is preferably effected by using compositions of different consistencies, composed of differentingredients or different proportions of ingredients, as for instance different amounts of cork or other elastic granules comprised therein, Since the inequalities in the surface levels result from the characteristics of the substances acted upon, I am able to use smooth faced presses or rollers and avoid the difficulties in effecting registration incident to the use of embossed rollers or plates.

In the preferred practice of my invention, the tesserae forming the main figures of the pattern and the joints between them are moulded in place by depositing granulated linoleum compositions of suitable colors on a backing through apertures in suitable stencils or templates. The stencil or template through which the composition forming the borders or joint lines is deposited may be elevated above the backing a distance some what greater than the elevation above the backing of the stencils through which the composition forming the remaining figures of the pattern is deposited so that a thicker layer of composition is laid along the joint lines. Preferably. however, the composition is deposited on the backing to a uniform thickness but the composition forming the joint lines or borders contains a greater proportion of cork or other resilient'material than the composition forming the remainder of the surface.

When the deposit of composition has been completed, the backing, With the composition thereon, is moved between the bed and top plate of a steam heated hydraulic press which softens, compacts and unites the composition into an integral sheet. Upon the release of the pressure, the composition expands slightly upward and, due to the greater co-efticient of expansion of the com position forming joint lines resulting from its composition or greater thickness, the joint tesserae expand more than the remainder of the composition and project above the general level of the product.

Instead of moulding granulated linoleum composition into desired shapes upon a backing, straight line tesserae may be cut from spongy linoleum compositions of different elasticities. It is, however, desirable that such tesserae be of a quite spongy consistency so that when they are placed on the backing to form a pattern and subjected to pressure they will all be considerably compacted but will expand unequally upward when the pressure of the press thereon is released.

The characteristic features of my improvements will more fully appear from the accompanying drawings graphically illustrating steps of my process and a product resulting therefrom.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of tesserae of loose granular composition deposited on a backing in accordance with the preferred practice of my invention; Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken through the sheet shown in Fig. 1 along the line 2-2 and positioned between a diagrammatically illustrated bed and top plate of a press; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of a completed flexible mosaic fabric made in accordance with and embodying my invention; and Fig.4 is a transverse sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 3.

In practicing my invention, a backing 1 may be moved step by step beneath a series of stencils or templates (not shown), the' respective", templates containing apertures having the contour of figures comprised in the design to be produced. For instance, the first stencil may contain apertures having the configuration of the tesserae 2; the second stencil may contain apertures having the configuration of the tesserae 3, and

the third stencil may contain apertures having the configuration of the border'tesserae '4. Granulated linoleum-like composition of a desired color or shade may be deposited on the backing 1 through the holes in the first template to form patches or sections-2 on the backing. The backing is then moved to a second template or stencil through the apertures of which granulated linoleum-like composition of a different, .shade or color may be deposited to form patches or sections 3. The backing is then moved to another stencil through which mortar colored linoleum-like composition may be de-v positedto form bands or borders. 4. The composition deposited through the last sten- 011 has greater elasticity or expansibility than the compositions deposited through the 'first and secondstencils. The greater elasticity may be produced in various ways but is preferably due to an excess of cork or other elastic granules therein in order that the deposits from the several stencils may be of the same thickness initially. It will be understood that any desired number of stencils may be used to! form figures of a design of any desired complexity, and the figures may be so shaped and colored as to produce flowers, birds, geometrical figures or any other pattern instead of paving plaques. I

When a section of the backing has been covered with the desired patches or tasserae of loose granular composition it is moved between the bed 5 and the smooth top plate 6 of a steam heated hydraulic press capable of exerting pressure suificient to compact the composition to approximately one-third its initial thickness. The heat and pressure unite the granules into an integral sheet having the desired design extending entirely through it. l/Vhen the pressure ofthe press is released, the compressed composition ex pands upwardly slightly, but the bands 4 expand'substantially more than the tesserae 2 and 3 and form ridges 4 projecting above the general surface. The interlacing of the granules at the lines of juncture of the tesserae 4 with the'tesserae 2 and 3 tends to restrain the expansion of the tesserae 4 immediately adjacent such lines of juncture, so that the ridges 4 are highest in the center and verge gradually down to the lower surfaces without sharp breaks or joints,

It will, of course, be understood that the tesserae 2 and 3 might be formed of composition of greater elasticity than the composition formingthe tesserae 4 so that the v latter would expand less than the tesserae 2 and 3 and form depressions or grooves between the tiles instead of ridges above them. Other designs, not involving the simulation of paving plaques'may, of course, be made in accordance with my invention by forming tes'serae that it is desired to have projecting from. a more resilient composition than the other tesserae.

While I prefer that the plastic compositions involved in my invention be composed of oxidized 'linseed Oll, granulated cork,

vwood flour, gums and pigments, other binders and fillers may be used in the composition, such for instance, as ground leather, asbestos, and plastic cellulose. All such compositions are intended to be embraced within the term linoleum composition as used in the claims, whether or not such composition actually contains any linseed oil. The backing may be made of burlap, as-

phaltum treated felt, paper, or other suitable sheet material.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A mosaic fabric comprising tesserae simulating tile or stones and border tesserae simulating mortar joints between said tesserae first named, the tesserae aforesaid comprising linoleum compositions of different elasticities and forming a surface having sections of different heights.

2. A mosaic fabric comprisinga backing having moulded thereon tesserae of linoleum' composition of different elasticities forming inlays of different heights, the higher tes-' serae forming borders outlining the lower tesserae and simulating mortar joints between the lower tesserae which simulate tiles or stones.

3. A mosaic fabric comprising a backing having moulded thereon a grid of linoleum material of greater height than tesserae of linoleum material moulded on said backing and positioned in the openings of said grid, said materials being compacted into an integral sheet.

4. A mosaic fabric comprising a flexible backing having fixed thereto tesserae of linoleum material simulating paving plaques and narrow tesserae, of linoleum material disposed between and higher than said tesserae first named and simulating mortar joints.

5. A mosaic fabric comprising tesserae of linoleum composition simulating tile or stones and border tesserae simulating mortar between said tesserae first named, said last named tesserae projecting above the general surface level.

6. A mosaic fabric having a pattern formed of moulded inlays of linoleum composition outlined by borders of moulded linoleum composition projecting above the general surface level.

7. A mosaic fabric comprising inlays formed from plastic material and outlined by narrow borders projecting above the general surface level.

8. A mosaic fabric having a pattern formed of elastic inlays outlined by narrow porderls of greater elasticity than said inavs.

9. A mosaic fabric comprising a backing having attached thereto plastic tesserae composed of granular elastic particles and a binder, said tesserae differing in elasticity.

10. The improvement in the manufacture of mosaic fabric which comprises forming on a backing a pattern composed of tesserae of linoleum materials of different resilienci'es and uniting said tesserae by pressure.

11. The method of making mosaic fabrics which comprises forming tesserae thereof of compositions of different elasticity and compacting the tesserae.

12. The method of making mosaic fabrics whh'h comprises depositing upon a backing tesserte of plastic compositions differing in elasticity and compacting and uniting such tesserae by pressure.

13. The method of making mosaic fabrics which comprises depositing on a backing tesserae of plastic composition covering the bulk of the surface of the backing, depositing between such tesserae plastic composition differing in elasticity from the said tesserm and compacting and uniting such compositions by pressure.

14. The method of making mosaic fabric which comprises depositing on a backing spaced tesserae of linoleum composition, and filling the spaces between said tesserae with linoleum composition of greater elasticity than said composition first named, and compacting and uniting said tesserae and filler by pressure.

15. The method of making mosaic fabric which comprises depositing on a backing linoleum compositions differing in elasticity, compacting said compositions by pressure and releasing said pressure to permit one of said compositions to expand more than the other and outline a design.

16. The method of making mosaic fabric which comprises depositing granulated linoleum composition upon a backing through apertures in a stencil having the contours of pattern figures, depositing contrasting linoleum composition on said backing through apertures in a second stencil having the contours of complementary pattern fig ures, depositing on said backing granulated linoleum composition through apertures in a stencil having the contour of spaces between figures aforesaid, said composition last named having a different coefficient of elasticity from the remaining compositions, compacting and uniting said compositions by pressure, and releasing said pressure, said composition last named expanding more than said compositions-first named.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my name this 16 da of September, 1927. EDW RD C. DEARDEN. 

